Africa | Gabon
Fang Head
Gabon
Harp head
Late 19th century
Carved wood and metal
Height: 35.5 cm – 14 in.
Provenance
Ex Sotheby’s London, 28-30 nov. 1983, lot 185
Possibly Merton Simpson (1928-2013), New York
Ex collection Seymour Lazar, Palm Springs, USA
Fang Head 35.5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
This highly expressive carved head was originally affixed to the upper part of a ritual musical instrument, the arched harp known as ñgomi among the Fang people of Gabon.
Erich M. von Hornbostel notes in "Fang" (Musée Dapper, 1997), that music plays a very important role in the life of the Fang. Musical instruments are played to provide the rhythm and underlie the melody of ritual or secular choral songs (…). Solo or choral songs are accompanied by the flute and the harp.
This typology of harp descends from an instrument already known in the time of ancient Egypt.
According to Louis Perrois, all the significant activities of customary life among the Fang had to be conducted under the aegis of the ancestors. This is why many carved objects were adorned with the face of an ancestor, which was the customary mark of lineage chiefs.
The head finial on a ñgomi harp was a reminder that the melody played upon the strings was the “voice” that permitted contact with another world, that of the spirits and the deceased.
Erich M. von Hornbostel notes in "Fang" (Musée Dapper, 1997), that music plays a very important role in the life of the Fang. Musical instruments are played to provide the rhythm and underlie the melody of ritual or secular choral songs (…). Solo or choral songs are accompanied by the flute and the harp.
This typology of harp descends from an instrument already known in the time of ancient Egypt.
According to Louis Perrois, all the significant activities of customary life among the Fang had to be conducted under the aegis of the ancestors. This is why many carved objects were adorned with the face of an ancestor, which was the customary mark of lineage chiefs.
The head finial on a ñgomi harp was a reminder that the melody played upon the strings was the “voice” that permitted contact with another world, that of the spirits and the deceased.
Publication
Explore the entire collection
